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Toyguru Mattycollector.com MOTUC news thread--October 2010

Like before, instead of posting EVERY little thing in it's own post, I'll gather them ALL the relevant MOTUC Ask Matty postings here. Keep checking for updates! The old threads are ancient history and won't be updated anymore. This is the new spot until next month.

I'll create a new version of this thread every month. I tried doing it every season and the first page has this extreme slow down effect.

As always, I'll put the most recent news up first, while the old news is down the bottom.

I know they are removable, but are they separate pieces from each other? I'd like to put He-Man's Cross armor on KG, so will it be possible to do that and have him wear his cape? Or are they one piece? Thanks very much!

I know people ask about certain Filmation characters (mostly Shadow Weaver, I venture?) And this is not another, I totally get that Mattel don't have the rights & doesn't want to be all shifty & do a knock of (infringing on another business's creative property rights)
(Some one presses the Wrap It Up! Button)
Can y'all disclose what Mattel would need to do to acquire the rights to the uber-requested Shadow Weaver, Sea Hawk, & Granamyr?

Granamyyr was in the mini comics first so he is available. The others appeared first in Filmation and did not appear in the 2002 series or toy line. We do not have the rights at this time to Filmation only characters right now.

This is the second Re-Issue I brought from matty that didn't come with a White Mailer Box. The first 9 figures from He-Man thru Man-At-Arms came with white mailer boxes with there re-issues. I already have all the 1st Editions that didn't come with mailer boxes but when I brought another Mer-Man he came just brown box with Tytus & Optikk back in May. Now Zodac came with my Robotos the same way no mailer box. WHY?????????

Zodac was not a reissue. This sale was remaining limited stock from our previous sale originally set aside for customer service.

I was wondering if it was too late to change the way Panthor is displayed in his packaging?

I personally love the new helmet he has, but as a MOC collector I would hate to see it on him in the packaging. Would it be possible to keep the helmet off of him when he is packaged?

Also is it possible to have Panthor facing the opposite way of Battle Cat in his packaging? This way us MOC collectors can display the two of them facing each other.

I think this could go along way in pleasing your MOC collectors. Thanks!

The plan has always been to package him without the helmet. If you have not noticed, for the most part the figures are always packaged in the same pose as the vintage figure. Also the Panthor helmet won't fit in the package on his head!

I've been reading the numerous posts every day here on Ask Matty and I want to see many of the figures than other fans request too. Hey, I'm a exclusive Motu collector, I want as many different figures as I can grab on this Motu line witch in my opinion is the best ever but that also worries me.

With so many requests for new characters and variants that (in my sincerely opinion and without want to hurt anybody's feelings I just think are issues with less importance like repaints or figures out of the vintage line), I'm afraid that could led to, at the end, some vintage figures could got off this line.

I want every different figure of every Motu line and cartoons or mini-comics on my collection as all others but I want most of all, all the vintage figures, beasts, vehicles and playsets to be included on this line so the bottom question is...

Could you, Matty team, tell at this moment if you plan to release all vintage figures, beasts, vehicles and playsets on this line?

Thank you very much for this great toy line that Motu Classics is and thank's to your huge patience with all us, fans!

Catra's Wrath: To answer your question, the line is penned out until 2016 at this time. This could change if new access becomes available to other characters/versions, but as it stands there's a structure in place for the next 6 years.

The plan is to get to every character released in the original MOTU, POP and NA lines within that time period. The characters have been spaced out over each year to make sure each one has an even balance - and really packs a punch!

As for vehicles, beasts and playsets - the beasts are just starting to make their mark! With 4 large scale items planned per year it's hoped to get to those that have been released before, alongside great new additions such as Gygor!

The first vehicle will be released in 2011 - if it sells well that could pave the way for more vehicles.

As for playsets, nothing to report right now, it's a possibility, though a large item such as Castle Grayskull would likely show up more around the time of a new motion picture.

There are diorama's on the horizon though! Keep an eye out for the weapons rack from Castle Grayskull coming soon!

Ideally it would be great to get to every item from the vintage line, but at this stage it's impossible to know whether that will happen.

Why do you sell faulty figures? IE: Orko ears (80's is better), Roboto shoulders and others various painting defects... I know you can't ignore that you are selling a figure with manufacturing defects. If you continue to produce faulty figures definitely I will stop collecting them.

If you have recieved any defective figures then please use the customer services helpline number, of fill out an e-ticket, you can find both on the customer servies area of the Mattycollector website.

Customer services can then reach out to you and try and help resolve the issue.

Will it change for 2011?
Also I always wondered why you never went with classic red with MOTUC on the packaging?

Catra's Wrath: There won't be any change to the standard figure packaging, at least not at this time.

The 'Grayskull' design makes the line stand our against the former two lines as a new and fresh take, three toy lines with the same red packaging as before wouldn't be as fresh or groundbreaking for the line, and it looks so great on display!

It's possible there could be a change to the larger scale items packaging in 2011 but nothing to report right now.

Hey there. Would characters that have appeared in the TRU two-packs like blue Mer-Man and reverse colors Stratos be available as single figures on mattycollector? I'm not a fan of DC at all and consider it a waste to buy these DC figures, but I'd love to get the redecoed MOTUC figures.

Not very likely. Those will most likely remain exclusive to the two packs.

Just wondering how you balance the inner fanboy against your business head. I have seen so many debates on forums for all franchises and although the ideas are epic, im pretty sure they would bury the line in months.

Sometimes it is really hard. There have been a ton of figures I've wanted to do (and even some entire lines) that just don't make sense from a business perspective. Mixes are also an issue. You really have to look at what is going to sell, not always what collectors (or the fan in me) want.

On the other hand, it is thrilling when you can prove that a collector line (like MOTUC or GB) sold online will work out from a business perspective. In that case it is the blend of my "fan" hat and "manager" hat when I can use my knowledge of collecting to create a line that appeals to collectors while working within the business needs of the brand.

Plus, to confess, selfishly, I do get to help push for lines and figures I want as a fan (when it works from a business perspective). Grodd was supposed to be the last JLU figure. At a meeting a few years back I stood up and really pushed to keep JLU going as a collector line (I'm a huge JLU toy fan and was long before coming to Mattel, I remember when Hawkgirl was the hard figure to find!). We've been able to keep JLU going now for almost 3 more years and it is so cool to get character I really wanted like the Gray Ghost and Blackhawk as figures.

It is long hours and there is WAY more numbers then toys in my day to day. But when you come home, look at MOTUC and can say, "wow I worked on this line", it feels very satisfying.

Hi, I need to know if in the future you have in head to do a new commemorative line about MOTU please.

And, if the thing is possible, do you think that characters like Eldor & He-Ro (by example) can see the day?

Some characters never realized by the past will be awesome for a lot of vintage collectors, please keep it in mind, you'll have success with a new project like that and I am sure that you know this fact.
You can limited the line (like the first commemorative line) but it will be one of the best thing that you can do for us out of the classics line, sincerely.

Totally get fans being excited for something like this. Right now we have very limited resources for the MOTU collector lines and we are putting all of that into MOTUC. In this might be a lot of fun to do, but nothing we are going forward with in the near future.

Toyguru, I want to start off by thanking you for all the hard work you put into the toy lines to try to satisfay us, the fans. I am constantly amazed by how much"after-hours" work you spend answering the questions here on the forum (as a frequent after-hours worker myself, I'm always cognizant of the timestamp on your replies here and on he-man.org).

My question is sort of two-fold. First, specifically around MOTUC, but also around any lines you manage, as a fan are you completely satisfied with the product being put out; for example, is there anything that has come out where you wish the sculpt had been a little different or that the accessories had been more varied?

The second part of the question is does the (somewhat-less vocal) positive feedback from fans make your job worthwhile when balanced against the (quite vocal, and sometimes juvenile) negative feedback from fans... I mean, things like seeing the same question come across your desk every other day ("when will this figure come out" or "you said character x is a possibility but didn't mention character y, so are they possible too") or seeing some of the things you said "thrown back at you" (like some fans calling the paint job on the weapons in the weapons rack too "hyper detailed" to nitpick at what they feel is the lack of detail in the MOTUC line), it has to get old, right? Does one relatively quiet positive voice outweigh 2 or 3 relatively noisy negative voices?

Anyway, I just want to again thank you for all the work you do in delivering these toy lines to us, the fans, and striving to get us the best product you can.

Things that "bother" me the most tend to be the same things that bother fans. It drives me nuts that Roboto has reversed shoulders. That some Martian Manhunters had the wrong arms. As a fan I want figures to be perfect and as a Mattel manager it is very hard seeing product my team works on come out incorrect.

Working at Mattel has absolutely opened my eyes to the thousands of factors affecting production that the public just does not see. The number of things we catch and correct are just so much higher then the mistakers, but sometimes not everything works perfect. And fans only see the mistakes. We don't get credit for the things fans don't see that were fixed.

As for negative feedback online, as a collector as well, I totally understand where they are coming from. I never take it personally mostly because as a fan, I feel the very same way when a toy I want is not correct or as I invisioned it.

The most rewarding thing though is getting to collect toys I work on and helping contribute creatively to the process. It is also hugely rewarding every time we reveal new product and to hear how excited it makes people feel. It makes the long hours worth it. I seriously wonder how someone without a huge amount of passion for what they do could work on collector lines like this!

Since we are often told of the limited funds Mattel is willing to put into the MOTUC line, why would money be spent on a new head for Panthor when it could have easily been a repainted Battle Cat's head? I could understand if there were drastic changes, but slight adjustments to "cheek fur" and the way the ears lay are quite subtle. When the differences are so minute, why even bother?

Would love to see She-Ra's Sword, Shield, axe in silver and gray also.

Right now we don't have firm plans for when we will have more Weapons Paks. I imagine we'll get to more down the road, but we need a few more weapons made first in the mainline to giver us more good repaints. We don't want to stretch the current options thin.

We all Motuc Fans were happy to ear that the line is planed for other 5 years, but then?

..a new He-Man have to come

This is my idea:
A 5 year project starting in Gennuary.
A new story,long after Prince adam/He-Man, to be wroten by the fans of Motuc through an year poll. Following another year to armonize this saga chapter and define charachters and bios.
Third year to finish story boards and Mattel brand managment approval.
Fourth year got a fantastic new comic to buy on ibook sore or any other digital store on line ( see Marvel and Dc apps on ipad for example)
And then..
when motuc line is going to be done... here we got new AFs from this new project "Masters of the Universe - Next Generation"
New AFs born from the idea and fantasy of the same adults that 30 years ago were children playing with the original toyline.
I have the power!
No Tg, now U have the power.

The MOTUC line in no way is planned to end in 2015. As long as fans are supporting the line, I'd personally like to keep it going as long as possible. Heck, Barbie and Hotwheels have been around for decades!

As for what the future brings to the brand outside of MOTUC, you'll just need to wait and see!

HI TG, With the announcement of how big the January sale is MOTUC wise, is there anyway the Guards (and possibly the stands) could be held over until February?

February at this point only has the Sub figure -Vikor,and possibly one reissue. it also allows some time to recover financially from Christmas. which is a huge consideration for many adult collectors with families.

I personally would love to buy 3 sets of the Guards and 6 sets of stands, but with my sub Bow's and Shadowbeast's the total cost will be $330(US) just for that month, and thats not including the Postage costs for two parcels to Australia.

So I will have to pass up the Guards and stands sadly.

is it possible to move the Guards, as Im sure Im not the only person who has problems with the January onslaught?

What I think we're going to do is move Shadowbeast to Feb. since we don't want to delay the Guards any more then they have been already. We'll announce this soon once we lock it down.

I know you can't comment on figures past king Hiss but...
Since you talked about a chance to get younger Prince Adam (inspired from MYP)and Captain Randor , Is there a hope to get a MYP Marlena as she were created for the classics ?

And which MYP look are you asking about, she had quite a few! Personally I like her Battle Armor in terms of MYP looks. But I think most fans are hoping for her classic Green Dress, at least for an initial release.

As for which look Marlena will have if and when we get to her, that remains to be seen!

Can you comment on the price of the upcoming Weapons Pack? The original was $12, which was reasonable for the weapons. The new one is listed on your site as $20, which a lot of people see as being too high for a bunch of repainted weapons with no retooling. I'm really hoping that the $20 is a mistake.

I'll look into this price. It should be the same price as the first one. There may be a mistake on the pricing.

Scott, can you comment on the artwork that was leaked for the 2-packs? A large portion of fans see the artwork as hideous for both Stratos and Mer-Man, but especially the latter. Even the colors are wrong on the art. Please tell us that the art that was leaked was fake, unofficial, or an earlier version that has since been changed.

Those are the final packages which we will be revealing officially on Mattycollector.com later this week. While the art may not be for everyone, we think it is keen!

I know that all-new characters are off the table for now, but have you given any consideration for creating "replacement counterparts" for characters that appeared in media that you do not have access to?

For instance, a character that bears no resemblance to Shadow Weaver in name, appearance, or origin, but fills a role similar to the one that Shadow Weaver herself filled?

Or would you rather hold of for the possibility of acquiring the necessary rights?

While we are looking into the possiblity of new character, we are less interested in replacing character from entermaint media that we do not currently have access to. We axpect others to respect Mattel's Trademarks and likewise we will always play fair as well. It is one of our core values as a company.

What do you think about some MOTUC christmas goodies?
Maybe an Orko figure as Santa Clause or Adora as Mrs. Santa
Or some christmas ornaments with MOTU images
Just for fun
I would love to have something like this for the christmas time

This would be fun, but right now we are putting all of our effort into the standard figures. You can always grab a soft goods Santa Hat from the upcoming GB 4 pack at TRU and give it to Orko!

I have a Masters of the Universe Classics Orko that I picked up at San Diego Comic-Con and one that I got through MattyCollector.com. the packages got stacked together before I had a chance to open one, and I want to keep the Con version in the white mailer box.

is there a way to tell which version is which from the white mailer box?

they look identical to me aside from some numbers stamped into the mailer box near the bar code. one is stamped 13300B and the other is stamped 17600B.

I have a question sort of directed to toys but not about any specific character. So I know that the 4H and yourself are fans of MOTU and stuff, but as a female fan I was wondering if there were other women working on the development of the Classics line? I know that there are some really great women as moderators and admin positions on this site, but I was curious about other aspects involving the development side of the line.

Oh and P.S. I totally used the search feature before asking the Sorceress question I posted here a few days ago! I will continue searching because I am sure the answer is out there.

We have quite a few females on the Mattycollector.com team including Eve our content developer, Jodi our online designer, Mary our copywriter, Rhobyn our logistics designer, and Danielle one of the brand managers. Many of them were at SDCC to meet and great fans. We are working on getting bios and interview with the whole team up.

TG, you often answer with We dont have the logistics to questions dealing with a new entertainment or with new services just as downloadable contents etc.

The MOTUC line keep evolving year after year with new toolings, bigger figures, vehicles etc. Such improvements already involve more logistics but the increasing number of fans supporting the MOTUC line doesnt seem to have an effect to make management at Mattel involve the right logistics to create a new entertainment or any new services.

Many fans proposals were made (online-comics, online subscriptions, etc) but the answers keep being the same despite the huge fans demand.

So TG, my question is :
After more than 2 years of support, what the fans should do to make Mattel involve more logistics in the MOTU properties?
Isnt the success of the MOTUC line enough to justify more logistics?

It is not at all a lack of fan demand but rather logistcal and legal issue which we simply can not discuss with the public that at this time prevents these type of projects from going forward.

Oh, and seeing that he does have a replaceable torso - I was curious as to how big his packaging would be. Would be the same as the regular ones or would it be a tad larger like Orko's was? (see - we're talking about King Hssss here so I'm sure you can at least comment on that)

Once we reveal the April figure we can comment on that figure. SDCC got us very far ahead in our reveals. Because things change ALL the time, we don't like to comment on future figures until we are 100% they are going forward.

About the MOTUC line, you do a fantastic mix between POP, Original, NA, Mini-Comic, Prototypes and 200x characters. That's awesome ! I really love them all... Especially Power of Grayskull figures and the impressive Gygor ! A very cool idea which has lead to a wonderful figure !!!

But you know, I'm a hardcore fan Smiler That's why, with the introduction of some new and interesting characters in the bios (e.g He, The Overlord of Trolla, Horde Supreme...), I'm thinking if you foresee a slot to introduce totally new characters in the line ??? I'm sure that 4 Horsemen and you could imagine something amazing.

We (fans) are exigent but I wanted to let you know that the line is better than I could have imagined. (Transparent Orko, He-ro, DC vs MOTU packs, introduction of 200X and Mini Comic characters, the bios, ...) You even take in consideration all opinions and requests such as "More females in the Motuc line".
It's a fantastic work and people often forget to appreciate the work behind all these great characters. I'm really impatient to be in July 2011 for SDCC and to see what cool idea you have for the exclusive !!!

Introducing new characters is something we are always looking into. Does Vikor and Mo-Larr count?

You explained that during the quest to recover the two halves of the Power Sword, Prince Adam basically looked exactly the same as He-Man. Does this mean there is no place for a younger Prince Adam figure in the bios/toyline?

I originally thought that when he first received the Techno Sword he would look as he did in the MYP episode "The Beginning" (younger, less muscle-bound) and then mature into the Classics Adam figure we already have.

Catra's Wrath: A younger version of Prince Adam (as seen in the 2002 MYP cartoon series) is totally possible in the future, and if/when that happens he would be made younger, and in that kind of costume - but in the 'Classics style' (as if he were a figure in the original 80's line)

As for where this would tie in for the bio - well that remains to be seen, but if/when this character is made you can rest assured an appropriate bio would come along with him! Toy Guru works on a lot of the bios himself, he's very dedicated to making sure they're all a great dedication to the original bios - and the new story that they're forming!

But you admitted that we aren't sharing info past King Hssss right now right in your question. How can we possibly answer this question then? You'll just need to wait and see when and if we will get to Oo-lar and what he will look like.

Hi, probably one of my favorite POP characters, I need to know if you have in plan to do her a day?

To be honest, I am afraid, I have the strange feeling that we will not have all POP characters in the classics line, because for the moment we have a lot of MOTU ones (including never released ones) but not a lot about NA and POP.

What I mean is, we have around 40 different figures now (with the next ones coming at the end of this year) but we have only Adora and She-Ra + Optikk concerning NA and POP, it is really poor if I compare.

About the next year I am imagining in your plan more than 15/20 MOTU figures (with the DCUC/MOTUC packs), 1/2 NA and maybe 3/4 POP, you see what I mean?
I have probably wrong but what can you say about POP and NA (both lines are counting around 50 vintage toys characters).

Every year should ideally have selections from all factions, genders, species and sub lines. It won't always work out, but we have spaced out key characters over the course of many years to ensure each year has a robust offering!

I was wondering, as far as weapons packs go, if it'd be feasible to ever see an orange/purple techno vest. Faker, I feel, would look better with that over an orange version of Skeletor's armor, but that might just be me.

Mainly, I was wondering, it was mentioned, when the new Masters movie finally is released, you'd likely have a separate line for that. If there are new characters, heroes or villains, made specifically for said move, and if they were a large enough role, would it be feasable that said new character would be available to be done in the Classics style & released in that line?

WE can't comment on any unannounced weapon pak beyond the Great Wars pack in Nov. If there is a MOTU movie you can bet it would get its own line outside of the Classics line. But nothing to announce now.

An A list variant of He Man in his snake armour is a future possibility sure, but nothing to announce at this time. Keep on watching those A list variants as and when they're revealed!

 King Grayskulls (Battle Lion)

Battle Lion is 'on the table' (possible to be made) as a large scale beast in the future, however all the beasts in this line will be made as if they were 'created in the original line', which means if he's been created in the original 80s line he would have used the basic Battle Cat buck. For this reason if he were to appear in the MOTUC at some point he would be in the same scale as Battlecat, but with a new head and armour. Hope that explains that.

 Roboto 200X head

I'm afraid you won't see a 200X head for Roboto. It's the same design, just in a different 'style'. If you put the roboto character into the 'style generator' and turned the dial right to 200X - you'd get the hyper anime roboto look. If you turned the machine's dial to the left to 'classics' it would come out looking like the MOTUC Roboto. There will be no 200X heads.

I think this question is a little personal but I still would like to know if you don't mind.

One of the two palace guards has your face so it's like you entered in the MOTU world and won a place in history. I guess we could say that you got, in a certain way, your imortality in the greatest way possible.

Entering in the MOTU toy line for me would be better than have a statue on the principal av. of my city so...

How does it feel to have your won avatar in MOTU, once this toys are a mark in many peoples childhood and life trough all the world?

I must admit it is a huge honor. I don't pretend at all to take credit away from the whole team including of course the Four Horsemen, but MOTUC as an adult collector aimed MOTU line was originally my pitch to management (to which the Horsemen created the actual specific "look") I've become (if you will) the "producer" for the line while the Horsemen and Bill Benecke are the "directors" and I have spent many long hours outside of work (and my regular work load as brand manager for the GL movie line) dedicated to this passion project (I am of course a life long MOTU fan!).

I tend to think of this as my "production credit" for sticking with it and was really honored that the Horsemen wanted to put me as a guard. (although I am glad you can also cover his face with a mouth guard so fans don't HAVE to stare at my visage on there shelf if they don't want to!).

It is not unusual for dedicate brand managers to get this type of treatment. I seem to recall Jesse at Toy Biz was an Elf in the LOTR line and David over at Hasbro was the comic style War Machine head!

Either way it is a dream come true and I will always treasure my Lt Spector figure!

The bios mention that Adam wore the same vest as He-Man during his quest to reunite the two halves of the power sword.

Since it is such an important part of the new Classics storyline, and as the Classics Adam figure cannot use the vest that came with the Goddess (due to the fact that his tunic is non-removable), will we ever get a figure of Adam actually wearing the Techno Vest?

Maybe. But nothing to announce past King Hssss for now. (and really, that is just the standard He-Man figure you are describing, unless you want him in pink shorts and boots)

I can tell you that kids love MOTUC , at least in France ...
OK ...
You once said that you ( MATTEL ) encourage kids to play with MOTUC ...
But there are boys N girls ...

Is keeping the interest for this public is part of your plan ?
I mean do you have this public in mind when you choose who's next ?
( almost a full year between two females figures seems to indicate NO , but i still have hope to see more " POP love in MOTUC " from Mattel ...

The MOTUC line is aimed at adult collectors. If kids are buying them too, all the better!

This might sound like a crazy question/suggestion, but here it goes. Any chance that we might ever get a Matty and Faker Matty figure someday? They could be a joke character like Mo-Larr. Matty could be Eternia's version of Santa Claus who brings gifts to all of the children, while Faker Matty could be Eternia's version of The Grinch. Could be a unique Christmas exclusive 2-pack.

This would be fun but it would likely not be in the MOTUC line if it ever happened. Matty is not a MOTU character!

on a recent Q&A session regarding MOTUC a user asked about the plans until 2016 and asks about a rough percentage of roster completion regarding the other MOTU lines such as PoP or NA and this was the answer:

Our end goal is to get to all the vintage figures in time, but there are TONS of logistical issues that come into play and in no way can we give any date when this goal will be reached.

Does the phrase "ALL THE VINTAGE FIGURES" include PoP and NA or it only applies to the Original MOTU line?

We were referring to all 3 vintage lines. Our goal is to complete them in time, but there are two many unknown factors to announce any type of "completion" date.

Seriously can we ever get this extra head of Grizzlor's? What's our chances? It is frustrating seeing something as perfect as that head and not getting it with the figure.

That is why we try our best to not show items that are not being tool'd. The same thing happened with Batman Beyond's wings.

There are no plans right now to include a second head as it was never costed in to the figure. The Horsemen often oversculpt parts and we do our best to try and only show the parts that will actually be tool'd but sometimes an image slips out causing fan confusion.

A second head might be a good way to refresh Grizzlor down the road in the future but no plans right now.

I noticed that armor like Tri-klops and Mer-man come with, the backs don't connect to the belts like the vintage figures do. I also noticed that they flop all over the place and start to rise up above the figures shoulders over time, making it looked warped and unpleasant to look at. Why is there no straps to these kind of armors? Can this be fixed in the future releases or what's done is done?

This is how the Horsemen designed the figures. We are always looking for ways to improve designs and will work with them on your suggestions. Nothing to announce right now.

now that the royal guards were postponed until 2011, is supposed that they will be part of the subscription?

No they will not. We were required for legal reasons to be upfront with everything that is included in the subscription at the time it went on sale. Any 2010 product slipping out to 2011 or developed outside of the subscription like a vehicle or weapon rack will not be included.

Following the interview of a previous Mattel employee Ted Mayer in he-man.org's Roast Gooble Dinner (podcast #18) has there been any possible change on Mattel's official position on the Octopus Woman toy design?

Ted clearly states in the interview that he designed the Octopus Woman in question whilst working at Mattel on the vintage MOTU toyline. This would explane why the design sheet for this character has "Mattel Toy" stamped on it. Hopefully the light Mr Mayer has shead on this issue will help Mattel find a way to weave this character into the MOTUC toy line in the future.

Even if Mattel employees or former employees had a hand in a character's creation, it is the first appearance of that character which makes it available. In the case of Octavia, she appeared first in Filmation and did not make it into the vintage line and is therefore not available at this time for MOTUC.

"We know you don't have filmation rights at this time" but how about getting the rights to the three most popular Horde characters - Shadow Weaver, Scorpia and Octavia - and having a femme fatales of the Horde three pack like Catra's Wrath suggested once? the fans reacted saying they'd pay $60+ for it, and with those characters in it, it would be a guaranteed sell out! Enough to pay for the licence rights on those three characters!

It is not as simple as that. Filmation character are not available one at a time. We do not have access at the entire Filmation library at this time. That includes both the popular and less popular character no matter how well they might sell.

Double Trouble always seemed like a very interesting character, as conceivably she could function as a hero and a villain. If and when she is released, will her packaging play up on this "double/ secret agent" aspect and feature both POP and Horde faction stickers?

Before i ask my question i am sorry but have to tell you in all honestly how i feel :
I'm not at all happy with the way the motuc team let females (in particular POP females)down and i kinow that you know i'm not the only unhappy collector don't you?
( many females figures questions recently ).
The line is supposed to mix all eras and if you take a look to this
you will see what i mean

near 40 figures released/revealed we have

2 POP female characters
3 MOTU female characters

5 females!
That balance is way off.

QUESTION :

LET'S FORGET THE NUMBERS OF FEMALES FIGURES (i know at least 4 are coming)CAN WE AT LEAST HOPE FOR A BETTER ORGANIZATION KIND OF :

If there is a good reason to push back females(maybe a new buck working better than the first) i think as adults we can understand but since there isn't any info about that,i have my doubts .
Almost a year between two females is too long .

Whatever you decide you have read my message, that's what i wanted you to do at least

We have the MOTUC line planned out for several years. We did this for several reasons. One was to ensure each year had a good mix of characters from different eras, "teams" and even genders.

If we rushed too many of one type at once we would run out of that type of figure in a few years. Our goal is to keep this line going for quite some time, not rush every fan demanded figure to market.

We also have a key strategy for when we want to reveal info in character bios. This also has helped push certain character to certain years.

There are lot more figures coming from all eras, genders, races and species. Stay tuned. We think that in a few years you'll look at your collection and feel pretty good about a nice size collection that is still growing.

And to put the "new buck" rumor to rest, while we are always looking to develop new parts we can roll out with future female figures to improve designs (as well as male figures!) there are no plans for a full new female buck at this time and this is in no way any motivation for "the lack of females". It is purely due to spacing out key characters and releases over many years to increase the longevity of the line.

The 4 females in 2011 is great but can all 4 be new characters not already in the collection rather than 3 new ones and a variant? If not then it's basically 3 females as well already have 1 of them already in a different costume/paint scheme.

Also of the 4 can at least 2 of them be POP characters? I dont care which ones but alot of us want to see some female Great Rebellion members so getting one along with maybe Catra (we can but pray) would be great.

You'll just need to wait and see for more details! We're not ready to spill the beans yet!

The prototype figures shown, painted by the 4H have always been really bright and vibrant. The final product rarely reflects this. He-man especially has much darker reds used (I've noticed they are colour matches for the old toys rather than the bright colours the 4H use).

However, the he-man that was included in the 2pack with superman was in bright colours. His hair was given a lot more attention and the reds used on his harness look like a perfect match for what is shown on the site for the regular he-man.

As you will no doubt be aware, the 2 pack he-man is incredibly popular on the boards here and is commonly regarded as the BEST he-man figure ever made because his colours stand out so much more, like something from a comic or cartoon. Keldor was in brighter colours, and he was wildly popular. To me, the thing that sets motu apart from similar franchises is that it is so colourful! everyone has a different, neon skin colour or a weapon bright enough to signal ships at night! Look at faker's bright blue and orange colour scheme. It's brilliant. it's FUN! The great thing about MOTU is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. It's a cartoon/toy line and is PROUD of that. It has corney characters (stinkor, mekaneck, Buzz-off!) and PRIDES itself on them!

Knowing that the customers take such a liking to brighter colours, would you consider using brighter colours in production and colour match the prototypes we all get excited at seeing?

Paint appts come out a bit different when the Horsmen paint a figure by hand vs. when it is done in mass at our vendor. We will certainly pass this suggestion along to the design team.

My question is - how come they are so similar to Filmation Shadow Beasts? (I'm not complaining in any way, just asking!)

The Shadow Beasts rights were aquired at the time of the MYP 2002 series, and as they're based off the original Shadow Beast concept, there was always going to be a similarity, after all - they're giant hairy ape like creatures with red eyes and a horn on the head - there's only so much difference you can do!

The Four Horsemen are dedicated to giving the fans the most iconic images of the characters they can, and push boundaries as far as they can within the limits. Remember, all the characters in the Classics line are presented as if they'd been put into a machine.

You put the character in, and on the one side it comes out 200X style, on the other the character comes out in the classics style, which is what we're getting. So if you put a shadow beast in the machine and turned the dial to 'Classics Style' this is what you'd get.

I really hope MOTUC won't get bright and vibrant paint schemes.
The more duller paint schemes we have now are fine.

And I most definitely do not consider the TRU He-Man as the best version.
In fact, to me , he (just like the TRU Skeletor) is the worst version, inferior to the Matty one.
And that's due to the bright, vibrant paint scheme.

Fictional characters are just that. Fictional. They have no personality or free will of their own.
Writers and editors mold them to their own wants and needs.
All we as the audience and fans can do is pick and choose our favorite interpretation and ignore the rest.

I really hope MOTUC won't get bright and vibrant paint schemes.
The more duller paint schemes we have now are fine.

And I most definitely do not consider the TRU He-Man as the best version.
In fact, to me , he (just like the TRU Skeletor) is the worst version, inferior to the Matty one.
And that's due to the bright, vibrant paint scheme.

Yeah, that one jumped out to me as well. I disagree with pretty much everything that person wrote. I like the more muted/realistic colors and dislike the TRU He-Man, I think he looks really cheap.

The Shadowbeast answer wasn't made by TG... just saying... It still bothers me that they look so Filmation-like... yet other filmation-like stuff can't be done.

You know...I'm wondering about that. Maybe they CAN do the Filmation looks to the characters that they already own. Mattel has said that they can do Marlena in a green dress or make a blue Hordak repaint.

For all the hassle of the retail business with these things, Mattel at least actually answers questions. Hasbro's Q&A sessions are almost always the same generic "we can't say anything" responses and half-answers.

Toyguru:The Shadow Beasts rights were aquired at the time of the MYP 2002 series, and as they're based off the original Shadow Beast concept, there was always going to be a similarity, after all - they're giant hairy ape like creatures with red eyes and a horn on the head - there's only so much difference you can do!

The Four Horsemen are dedicated to giving the fans the most iconic images of the characters they can, and push boundaries as far as they can within the limits. Remember, all the characters in the Classics line are presented as if they'd been put into a machine.

You put the character in, and on the one side it comes out 200X style, on the other the character comes out in the classics style, which is what we're getting. So if you put a shadow beast in the machine and turned the dial to 'Classics Style' this is what you'd get.

Does this mean when Matty puts Evilseed through the Classicizer machine and turn the dial to 'classics' that we get 'artichoke' head and thorn head is banned as too 200x?

For all the hassle of the retail business with these things, Mattel at least actually answers questions. Hasbro's Q&A sessions are almost always the same generic "we can't say anything" responses and half-answers.

Nah. Mattel and Hasbro give about the same percentage of real answers to half answers to cool info to totally pointless 'why did you even bother responding?' answers.

Hasbro, in my opinion, has a WAY better PR guy(s) writing the answers. So even their non-answers make a fan feel more involved. And they do give out a lot more straight-up 'NO' answers instead of beating around the 'maybe some day' bush. Hasbro used to be worse for the Q&As, but they've progressively gotten better as Mattel has progressively gotten worse (although Mattel's DC answers are still usually pretty informative - compared to MOTUC answers).

He's also full of it when he says that Filmation characters are not available one at a time. They could pay to license a character. I know that for a fact but I can't reveal why I know that. I wish the people who could prove my point would comment.

Now maybe Classic Media WON'T grant Mattel anymore single-character licenses (which is smart of then to do), but for the right price, anything is possible.

Why does he say things like that when it's not the real deal? It's insulting.

Look at how this was phrased. "We do not have access at the ENTIRE Filmation library"...unless this is a misphrasing on his part, that means they have access to SOME of the library and can make some characters?

Look at how this was phrased. "We do not have access at the ENTIRE Filmation library"...unless this is a misphrasing on his part, that means they have access to SOME of the library and can make some characters?